We are not as far away as people think

Submitted by UMxWolverines on

I'm just as bewildered as you guys about how we managed to stay with this OSU team for 3 quarters despite looking like total crap for the other games besides Appalachian State. 

But I think it comes down to talent and playing to their potential, and we have it. Gardner played well for the most part that day. For some reason Hoke could get everyone to play well for the OSU game as shown by 2013 as well. 

Now we have Harbaugh who will get everyone to play that way for every game. It all comes down to the QB and WR positions for 2015 though. 

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Tater

January 2nd, 2015 at 1:03 AM ^

I have been saying that Michigan has the talent to win now since the coaching search started.  Now that Harbaugh is going to bring in his much more clever offense but out of mostly the same sets Michigan already uses, I think we are going to see immediate improvement.

Remember that a lot of people who don't wear maize and blue-colored glasses thought Michigan had the talent to win 10 games in 2014.  

Most of all, you can bet your ass that Jim Harbaugh is going to go into every game thinking he will win.  That is going to count for a lot.

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Mr. W

January 1st, 2015 at 11:57 PM ^

"What he did with Alex Smith"...Having to deal with a quarterback that went 21-2 in college, was 4th in Heisman voting, and the #1 pick hardly describes a huge project. Other than his rookie season, he was actually pretty decent in SF before Harbaugh got there

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schreibee

January 2nd, 2015 at 12:15 AM ^

No Alex Smith wasn't "pretty decent"...he was beaten out by Shawn Hill among others during the course of his 49ers career, and think about what it takes for an undrafted journeyman to beat out the #1 overall pick.

Smith was a broken shell before Harbaugh got there. He led SF to the NFC title game in his 1st season w/Harbaugh, when the 49ers hadn't even been to the playoffs in nearly a decade.

Save your revisionist history for 11W or RCMB please.

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Mr. W

January 2nd, 2015 at 8:24 AM ^

Not trying to apply revisionism, all I said was he was pretty decent. Referring that he was average, not terrible but nowhere near elite.

You're right, Hill did beat him out but those were also seasons he was hurt during the season/camp or missed altogether. His completion percentage increased only by a few % under Harbaugh and TDs remained roughly the same. He did cut down on INTs heavily though. Ironically, his best season statistically was in 2012 when he was replaced by Kap.

Trust me, I'm not saying he was a top 10 QB in the league, but I also think it's too discrediting to say that he was a complete dumpster fire.

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glewe

January 1st, 2015 at 11:23 PM ^

Thanks for pointing this out. I've always been an advocate for this team; 5-7 is not exactly "falling just short" but the team definitely grew over the course of the season, and I think they'll be able to grow to a new level with Coach Harbaugh.



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MChem83

January 2nd, 2015 at 8:58 AM ^

Both Jones and Barrett were playing at a very high level pretty much right away when they became starters, whereas Morris has not shown even a glimmer of real talent in two years. The last three Heisman trophy winners were all playing at a top 5 level as RS freshmen, so it really doesn't take long for a good QB to develop. It's pretty sad that we had two 5 stars and a 4 star QB on the roster this year, and the best of them would have been 4th string at OSU. That's how far away we are from being competitive at the level we saw yesterday.

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MGoStrength

January 2nd, 2015 at 12:01 AM ^

OSU's system doesn't appear to have as difficult of reads/decisions for the QB to make as Harbaugh's pro-style likely will IMO.  Plus we don't protect the QB as well nor run the ball as effectively as OSU does.  And, both Barrett and Jones are better runners that the defense has to respect.  All those things go together.  If we can get the running game going consistently that will make a big difference and we get back a lot of returning offensive lineman.  But, OSU has done will in all those other areas that help the QB that we have yet to do.

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1of12MattDamons

January 1st, 2015 at 11:25 PM ^

I think with the talent we have on the team we will be able to compete as soon as next year. Not saying we will win the Big Ten or anything, but I think 9 wins during the regular season and vast improvement may be imminent with Harbaugh as our coach.

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93Grad

January 1st, 2015 at 11:25 PM ^

What are you talking about? Sparty just won 2 major bowls in a row which is something I don't think Michigan has ever done and OSU is about to go to their third NC game in the last 7 years. We are light years behind.



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Wendyk5

January 2nd, 2015 at 12:15 AM ^

When asked whether he thought Harbaugh would end up staying, Hackett said he thought there was enough challenges here to keep him interested (I'm paraphrasing). I.e. there's a lot of work to be done here. 

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Larry Appleton

January 1st, 2015 at 11:35 PM ^

Many of State's recruits, particularly the ones that turned into big time gamers, were never looked at by Michigan.  So unless Harbaugh is going to start looking primarily for 2 and 3-star "diamonds in the rough," I doubt he'll affect State's recruiting too much.

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MGoStrength

January 2nd, 2015 at 12:06 AM ^

We are and we aren't.  We do have talent and all the resources to get there.  And, the right coach can turn things around quickly.  Saban's done it.  Meyer's done it.  D'Antonio's done it.  And, Harbaugh's done it. Harbaugh appears to be that kind of coach.  There's no reason to think that if he is as good of a coach as Meyer and D'Antonio we can get there sooner rather than later.  I am cautiosly optimistic.  I think we have a LOT of maybes that need to be proven before I'm on board with being close next year.  But, we're not light years away with the right coach either IMO.

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Mr.Jim

January 1st, 2015 at 11:25 PM ^

how we were able to compete with O$U the last two years. Definitely is an indicator that Michigan has talent and it just needs to be coached-up. Enter Mr. Harbaugh.

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Sideline

January 1st, 2015 at 11:27 PM ^

Are you watching this? Urban is man-handling Alabama's D. A lot of it looks like Alabama just EXPECTS to go to the NC game... They are underwhelming

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Swazi

January 1st, 2015 at 11:30 PM ^

We always had the talent. Now we have the coaching. Drevno is going to make that line a machine. And Durkin/Mattison coaching the same defense is going to be fantastic.



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